


A Betrayal Most Harmonious

by Smooth_Kreminal



Series: Dragon Age Oneshots [1]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Bard - Freeform, Betrayal, F/M, Minstrell, Secrets, Spy - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-07
Updated: 2018-09-07
Packaged: 2019-07-08 01:55:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15920544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smooth_Kreminal/pseuds/Smooth_Kreminal
Summary: Maryden's secrets are too much for Cole to ignore, but human morality doesn't come naturally to him, especially when emotions are involved.





	A Betrayal Most Harmonious

A hundred lifetimes could come to pass, he pondered, and he would never understand. 

Understanding was something different though; Cole found the more time he spent in the mind of the woman who thought in poetry, the more daft his riddles seemed in comparison. 

The onset of her betrayal sounded heavy to Cole, like a steel drum that only he could hear, although he tried his hardest not to. The galaxies she held under her tongue were starting to slip as her lips spoke sonnets no longer. 

Maryden smiled at him over her parchment, the scratching of the quill pulling him from his borrowed thoughts as he watched her write, eyes soft and secretive. 

“What’s that for?” he asked, voice shaking and unconfident as he tasted the lie before the words had even left his lover’s throat. 

“A new song for the Inquisition!” Maryden exclaimed perkily, her voice strong and songlike compared to his, “Another victory to remember in melody, don’t you think?” 

He nodded meekly, turning away as his bandaged fingers found the rim of his hat - a nervous habit he’d developed as of late in the presence of the minstrel. Sitting cross-legged on the bed he wondered, the human morality of the secrets he sat on dragging at him with icy fingers with every word he learnt. The learning had been the hardest part of changing. 

Maryden wouldn’t show him if he asked, but he couldn’t read anyway. The real Cole couldn’t read so why should he? He still felt every word before the quill touched the parchment, the deceptive letter burning itself into his mind, although comprehending the betrayal was harder for the young man than it should have been. 

Her heart beat the way Leliana’s sometimes did late at night, the spymistress’ steeled bodice betraying her tricky desires for only a second as she anticipated her duties. The duties that enveloped Maryden, however, were destructive and malevolent from what Cole could tell. Spies were so inconsistent!

Lyrics and melodies had found their way deep into his chest - not the way he usually felt things, no, this belonged to him and him alone - a sorrowful tenderness he couldn’t properly address. This woman had cast her radiance and charm over the Inquisition’s patrons, as well as a creature like Cole, making her melancholy beat just that much more painful. 

Cole had heard a song like this before, louder and more gathered from The Iron Bull. He swore he would never ignore such a rhythm again, the destruction and heartache that the qunari had caused a few months prior simply too much to justify locked lips. 

He hadn’t expected to hear the same song from Maryden. 

Sometimes her heart sang out for just a moment, honesty growing with infectious inflections within her vocal chords, but then she’d swallow, and the words would be replaced with pride once more, leaving Cole helpless in her mind. He just wanted to hear the truth from her, so he could pretend it wasn’t real. 

“You seem distracted, my love.” Maryden stood, folding her letter of stolen secrets and tucking it into her waistband nonchalantly. “Is everything alright?” 

“Yes.” He spoke loudly, nowhere near as well versed in lying as his companion. “I am worried about the… Inquisition.” 

He still didn’t understand why people referred to it like a person. 

“What’s to worry about?” Maryden sat beside him, tenderly tracing her fingers over the quilt they sat on, avoiding eye contact with dubious intention. 

“The face… bare and bitter, a wanton burning where a hand used to be.” Cole started, shaking his head as strands of platinum fell into his cold eyes. “She won’t survive another battle. She won’t let herself.” 

He could feel the cogs turning in Maryden’s brain, considering her lover’s vapid warning. If the men she worked for had their way, the Inquisition would change. Cole didn’t like to think what would happen to the Inquisitor herself. 

He almost believed that the minstrel was going to falter, that for just a moment she would let the secrets she held in her soul like tumours overflow, and things could go back to the way they were. Instead, she let out a breathy laugh, nudging closer on the small bed they shared. 

“I should write down some of the silly little riddles you speak in.” Maryden chuckled warmly, making Cole blush despite the circumstances, “Oh, you’d make a marvellous poet with such pretty thoughts.” 

She pulled him closer, brushing the greasy hair from his eyes with her delicate fingers. The fingers Cole used to watch when he could still hide, the strumming of the lute reminiscent of the spirits that used to dance around him. 

But now the spirits were gone, and he was like everyone else. 

“Most thoughts sound like poems,” Cole murmured to no one in particular, helplessly content in her arms, “they just don’t know how to say them.” 

Maryden smiled patiently down at him. Cole couldn’t tell, but he felt oh-so wary that perhaps she knew that he could hear her. Maybe she could hear the drums as well. Maybe she knew that he wouldn’t even whisper her secrets to the trees. She was clever like that. 

“The Maker saw deep into my heart in the midst of war, and sent you here beside me.” She had said such things to Cole before, although he wasn’t sure if he could believe it. Surely the Maker had other things to attend to, but he wouldn’t know. 

“Yes.” Cole simply agreed instead. “And then I stayed. I wanted to stay.” 

Maryden laughed again, girlish and joyous as she found his bandaged hand with her perfect one. “Come, my dear, we should get some rest.” 

She got to her feet, preparing for bed, likely forgetting again that Cole didn’t sleep. He liked that she could still forget. 

“I love you.” he replied quietly, “And I trust you.” 

He trusted her despite everything she hid behind her lute and under her skin. Surely that is love - to know something is going to hurt, but letting it happen anyway. Emotions were difficult outside of the Fade. 

Either she didn’t hear him, or didn’t want to answer. It made no odds to Cole; he knew she felt it too. 

The drums faltered, a beat skipping for just a moment before resuming, perhaps a bit slower than before. She didn’t  _ have  _ to betray anyone. 

Cole lay himself down as Maryden left the room, hoping she’d come back with the truth on his lips, but not expecting such a thing. It hurt, but it was bearable. 

Maybe he could just pretend tonight. 


End file.
